Sleep Apnea Therapy: Get the Rest You Deserve

You’re sitting at work one day, and then suddenly, your co-worker wakes you up by gently shaking your shoulder. This is the third time you’ve dozed off today, and people are starting to notice. This keeps happening, and you’ve been going to bed earlier and earlier, but you still end up feeling exhausted throughout the day, even on the weekends. Why does this keep happening?

If this sounds familiar to you, you may be suffering from sleep apnea, a serious condition that can rob you of the sleep you need and drastically affect your overall health. In the past, there were only two ways to treat sleep apnea, which involved either a loud machine called a CPAP or surgery. However, Dr. Landry is now able to offer a viable third option: oral appliance therapy. With it, he can help you finally get the rest you need so you can wake up feeling focused and energized. Are you ready to truly feel awake again? To learn more, read on below or contact us today for an appointment.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a disorder that is characterized by loud, chronic snoring and brief lapses in breathing during sleep. This is typically caused by the soft tissues in the mouth and throat relaxing into and obstructing the airway, and when this happens, it causes the body to go into panic mode and wake up to restore normal breathing. This can happen hundreds of times a night, preventing a person from getting the deep, restful sleep they need. Other common symptoms of sleep apnea include:

Feeling tired despite sleeping for 7-9 hours

Waking up sweating, gasping, or out of breath

Trouble focusing or remembering things

Trouble with weight gain/loss

Mood swings and depression

Increased blood pressure

Left untreated, sleep apnea can ultimately cause a person to develop something fatal, including a heart attack or stroke. If you have noticed any of these symptoms for yourself or a bed partner, be sure to seek out treatment right away by consulting your family doctor.

How Dentistry Can Help

The key to overcoming sleep apnea is to keep the airway open during the night, and now, this can be accomplished using a custom-made oral appliance that fits over the teeth. Dr. Landry can specially-design an oral appliance so that it helps you breathe normally during the night, enabling you to finally get the quality of sleep you require. It will work by gently shifting the jaw forward and/or keeping the tongue in a neutral position. In research, this approach has been shown to help about 90% of sleep apnea patients drastically improve their sleep quality.

Do you believe that you or a bed partner are suffering from sleep apnea? We can help you get a proper diagnosis so you can start getting the treatment you need. Have you already been diagnosed and need treatment? Are you looking for an alternative to CPAP therapy? In any case, Lapalco Family Dental can provide the answers you need, so contact us today to learn more.